In a very small coop I would be very very careful about adding heat. In a small space a few birds would be able to produce a fair amount of heat. My coop is 12 X 10 and 8 ft high and connected to another space separated by a screen door which is also 10 X 12 (people side) So the heat the birds produce really can escape. The light bulb I intend to use (unless the old-timers hypnotize me again) will hopefully be a red 150 watter. I don't like the idea of lights on all night for chickens, although I know someone who does that and says that the light keep the water from freezing.
When I hear people talk about cold winters and then say it actually got to 10 degrees above.....I know a lot folks just don't get the idea of 30 below. Ugh. That's right around where Crystal's chickens froze to death.
We just went through a major fire situation here.(not coop) So I am extremely cautious to the point of paranoia....but .....I will try to use my head in this Last winter was mild for us. Mild meaning 15 below was about as cold as it got all season. And then only a couple of times.
I want to make sure the girls are well-hardened-off (gradually acclimated) toward the cold and have responded by growing lots of feathery downy insulation. I want to have good ventilation to protect against humidity. I would protect walls (leaving some 1/2" screened holes open high above were they roost) with plastic or something from severely cold weather. And because I consider my coop safe (wired by a licensed electrician with sockets for light and GFI's in the plug-ins)........only if necessary when it gets REALLY cold do I intend to use a bulb in the socket. Well.....if I am still worried about fire I could always stick a smoke alarm out there with a baby monitor at my bedside.
(Anything for the chickens) But all those shaving sure would go up FAST if there was a fire.
One thing I didn't think about,mentioned by Marans Guy, is that a heated waterer would add too much moisture to the coop. With farmers mostly gone to other jobs all day there must be a way to provide water for them at all times. I guess I would be careful and really make sure there is good ventilation and then use my heated water base.
Regarding ventilation a lot of people have recommended: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop
I'm not sure where the author lives, though.
When I hear people talk about cold winters and then say it actually got to 10 degrees above.....I know a lot folks just don't get the idea of 30 below. Ugh. That's right around where Crystal's chickens froze to death.
We just went through a major fire situation here.(not coop) So I am extremely cautious to the point of paranoia....but .....I will try to use my head in this Last winter was mild for us. Mild meaning 15 below was about as cold as it got all season. And then only a couple of times.
I want to make sure the girls are well-hardened-off (gradually acclimated) toward the cold and have responded by growing lots of feathery downy insulation. I want to have good ventilation to protect against humidity. I would protect walls (leaving some 1/2" screened holes open high above were they roost) with plastic or something from severely cold weather. And because I consider my coop safe (wired by a licensed electrician with sockets for light and GFI's in the plug-ins)........only if necessary when it gets REALLY cold do I intend to use a bulb in the socket. Well.....if I am still worried about fire I could always stick a smoke alarm out there with a baby monitor at my bedside.
One thing I didn't think about,mentioned by Marans Guy, is that a heated waterer would add too much moisture to the coop. With farmers mostly gone to other jobs all day there must be a way to provide water for them at all times. I guess I would be careful and really make sure there is good ventilation and then use my heated water base.
Regarding ventilation a lot of people have recommended: https://www.backyardchickens.com/a/...-go-out-there-and-cut-more-holes-in-your-coop
I'm not sure where the author lives, though.
